Are you looking for literature to support classroom instruction about Mexico? Check out Our Editors’ Choices for titles recommended by the Education World team. Then it's your turn to share books that you enjoy or use in your classroom in the Our Readers’ Voices section below. With your help, we will build the best list on the Internet of Best Books for teaching about Mexico.
My Mexico/México mío
by Tony Johnston
Tony Johnston's My Mexico/México mío contains sensitive, soft but bright illustrations in pencil over watercolor that depict Mexican scenes in 16 double-page spreads. Printed over the backgrounds are 18 poems in both English and Spanish. The poems are mostly free verse, although there is some use of rhyme. They deal with everyday subjects such as cockroaches or corn, or historical topics such as the Nahuatl language or the disappearance of the Aztecs. (School Library Journal)
Mexico: 40 Activities to Experience Mexico Past & Present
by Susan Milord
Milord provides an amazing amount of information about Mexico, ranging from ancient history through the Spanish conquest to contemporary life. Activities include such standards as making an Ojo de Dios and a piñata, but there are also directions for creating marzipan skulls for the Day of the Dead celebration, as well as recipes for salsa, tortillas, and hot chocolate. Maps show the present-day Mexican states, the location of pre-Hispanic cultures, and the areas annexed to the United States. Also included are a list of Spanish words and phrases with phonetic pronunciation, a Spanish game, an explanation of the Maya numbering system, and sidebars giving brief biographical information about famous Mexicans from Emperor Moctezuma II to Carlos Fuentes. (School Library Journal) Part of the Kaleidoscope Kids series.
Now It's Your Turn!
We've shared a few Editors' Choices for teaching about this theme. Now it's your turn to contribute to the Readers' Voices section below. Do you have a book related to this theme that you and your students enjoy? Just click here to share it!
Don't miss our Editors’ Choices for Teachers and for Parents. We're waiting for you to add your Readers' Voices there too.
El piñatero/The Piñata Maker
by George Ancona
Don Ricardo, or Tio Rico as the children call him, is the piñata maker of a village in southern Mexico. Now seventy-seven years old, Tio Rico has been making elaborate and beautiful piñatas for fifteen years. He brings great joy to children with his magical puppets, masks, and piñatas -- and, of course, he gets invited to nearly all the parties. Told in English and Spanish by award-winning author and photographer George Ancona, The Piñata Maker documents this Latin American art, including a note on how to make a piñata at home, and offers readers a facinating glimpse of life in a Mexcian village.
Look What Came from Mexico
by Miles Harvey
In this volume, readers will learn about many things that hail from Mexico, such as chocolate, chili peppers, piñatas, and the chihuahua. The Look What Came From... titles present a variety of inventions, sports, food, holidays, and customs that originated in their respective countries. In each, glossy double-page spreads cover topics such as "Fashion" and "Music," illustrated with full-color photographs, reproductions, and drawings. A recipe, a pronunciation guide to some foreign words, lists of further reading, and organizations and informative online sites are also included. On the last page of each book, the author informs readers about something traditionally associated with the country which, in fact, began elsewhere. (School Library Journal) Part of the Look What Came From... series.
Calling the Doves/El canto de las palomas
by Juan Felipe Herrera Calling the Doves is a rich, personal narrative about growing up as a migrant farmworker. Juan Felipe Herrera relates how he learned to love the land from his father and poetry from his mother. He uses lyrical passages to portray everyday life. The colored-pencil and acrylic illustrations are bright and at times fanciful. Simmons's artwork brings to life Herrera's words, which are printed in both English and Spanish, and reinforces his imagery. The combination of a beautiful text and radiant paintings makes Calling the Doves an excellent bilingual picture book. (School Library Journal/)
Add your voice to our list of books for teaching about Mexico.
The Education World Editors’ Choices above represent just a handful of the fine books that might be used to support classroom instruction about Mexico. Now we’re waiting for you to add to our list. Simply send us your review of a favorite book in 100 words or fewer and we will add it to the Readers’ Choices below.
El piñatero/The Piñata Maker
